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tui-12h.' faire getest @ffice JOSEPH MILLER, 0E cuni.,y NEw- Yon-K.

Letters .Patent No. 63,805, dated April 16, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE MANUFAGTURE `0I SHEET IRON.

Be it known that I, JOSEPH MiLLER, of Cuba, in the county of Allegheny, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement inthe Manufacture of Sheet Iron; and I do Vhereby declarev the following to be a full and exact description thereof, which will be more fully understood. by reference to the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section. l

Figure 2, a top view; and

Figure 3, a transverse section iu the vertical plane .fr :v of g. 1. i

The object of my invention is to produce an article of sheet iron which shall be iexible and not liable to Abreak when bert longitudinally or transversely.. In other'words, I propose to furnish a commodity which shall possess, in this respect, the qualities of Russia sheet iron as contradistinguished. from American sheet iron, which, although it has been manufactured so as to be tclerably exible when'bent in one direction, is always brittle'wh-enbeut longitudinally. l

To secure my object, I prepare the sheets of iron in the usual way, of a thickness a littlefgreater than that which it is proposed to give -them when finally nished. As they -are passing through the rollers for the last time I bring aialn'e or other heat to bear upon the sheets throughout their entire breadth justiat the moment they are entering between the rollers, sufficient to bring them to a weldingheat. Being rolled in that condition,.tho iron comes out in a soft and flexible condition, and the fibres are thoroughly welded to each other, so that they will become flexible and not liable to break or separate when bent either longitudinally 'or transversely. -i

In the accompanying drawing/s, a a represent the rollers; b the sheet; d d the rollers which sustain and push forward thesheetfand c c are contrivances by which the heat is brought upon the sheet from below and above just as it is to pass between the rollers a a.v A shelf may bovarranged for the sheet b to rest upon at the right-hand side of the rollers a a, and another shelf upon the left-hand side of those rollers. These-shelves may be made inclined to the horizon, so that the sheets will move forwardlbywtheir own gravity. Rollers may also be placed at the left-hand side of the rollers a a, for'the purpose of drawing the sheets forward after they cease to be pushed by the rollers d d, or other contrivances mayreadily be devised for thesepurposes. Flame or heat may` be brought from a-furnacexthrough suitably-arranged contrivances, into the body of the longi-v tudinal tubes c c, and be made to pass out at thennarrow openings at their converging extremities, 'so as to impinge uponl the sheet just as it is entering between the rollers a. a.' Instead of bringing heat from a furnace, as justvcontemplated, hydrogen or other inilammable gas may be forced into these tubes` when properly constructed, and ignited as they issue from those tubes andare brought to bear upon the sheet of iron.

To prevent the rollers from beingtoohighly heated, Ivconstruct them with a small cylindrical cavity in each. i There should be a considerable thickness of metal'outsid-e of this cavity to-preventl the surface of those rollers from becoming too cool. I I v p i To prevent the oxidation` of the sheets of metal at the high heat to which they are brought, I usually coat them with a covering of borax or plumbago.' This may be done by pulverizing those Vsubstances,mixing lthem with oil, and then applying them with a brush. Other modes of protecting them from the atmosphere, which are well known to those skilled in working in iron, may be used for this purpose.

Having'thus fully described mylinventiom'whatl claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is-

'Ihe improved mode of manufacturing sheet iron, as herein shown, by raising it to awelding heat just as it is about-passing between the finishing rollers, substantially as and for the purpose described.

` JOSEPH MILLER.

Witnesses:

R. 'l. CAMPBELL, EDWARD SCHAEEE; 

